Photo: Rachel Allingham · Image source ·CC BY 4.0
Animal profile · Crustaceans · Spiny lobster
California spiny lobster
Panulirus interruptus
The California spiny lobster is a clawless lobster of the eastern Pacific. It hides in rocky reefs and kelp habitats and emerges to feed after dark.
Not a fish · an aquatic neighborWater
Saltwater
Rocky reefs, kelp forests, caves, and sandy bottoms near reefs.
Temperature
Range not established
A dependable species-specific wild temperature range was not established from the reviewed sources, so both values are null.
Size
Up to about 51 cm (20 in) long
About the length of a guitar neck
Lifespan
Best-supported wild lifespan is not established.
Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.
01 · Signature adaptation
What does it do?
It is mostly nocturnal and shelters in reef crevices during the day. It grows by molting and can be vulnerable immediately after shedding its shell.
02 · Home coordinates
Where does it live?
Monterey Bay, California, south along Baja California to the Gulf of Tehuantepec.
Regions: Eastern Pacific · California and Baja California
03 · The menu
What does it eat?
It uses its mouthparts to graze, crush invertebrates, and scavenge.
Omnivore: mussels, urchins, snails, crabs, fish, algae.
04 · Remember this
Two wow facts
Clawless lobster
Its front limbs do not form the giant crushing claws seen in American and European lobsters.
Sources [1]
Seasonal fishery
California’s recreational fishery generally runs from autumn into early spring under state regulations.
Sources [1]